Definition of "footman" []

• A man employed as a servant to wait at table, attend the door, and run various errands, as in a palace. (noun)
• Archaic A foot soldier; an infantryman. (noun)
• Archaic One who travels on foot; a pedestrian. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We have used the English term footman to indicate what is usually called a waiter in this country."
• "The word footman does not refer to that class of servants who are badged and dressed in livery to gratify the pride of their masters, nor to that description of foot-soldiers or infantry, whose business is designated by the blood-stained colour of their clothes."
• "'abundance of art, to be sure she has; for I'll answer for it, this intrigue with a footman is not the first by many; but, poor woman, her charms are in their wane now, so the man is a substitute for the master.'"